Homemade Baby Wipes

Becca here with a 'recipe' that I've been making for over 6 and a half years now!  My oldest has trouble with fragrances & dry skin, so I first started making these homemade baby wipes out of desperation when she kept getting really bad rashes.  I honestly don't even remember where I first got the idea or saw the recipe, I've lived a lot of life since then, ha!  They're super quick, and definitely less expensive than buying even the generic wipes or using a coupon on the name-brand wipes.  I do still use those for traveling, but actually greatly prefer the way the homemade wipes work; I think they're both softer, and have better wiping power both!  I recently switched to cloth diapers, so I've been using the same 'recipe' on cloth wipes part of the time also.

You will need an airtight container for the wipes.  For the first child and half of the second one's diaper years, I used a canister from a very inexpensive set from Walmart.  It finally wore out after heavy daily use, and I switched to the Lock & Lock container pictured here and used it for the second half of the second child and am currently using it now.  It is the 2.7 quart container from this set.  I believe you can purchase it separately at Walmart for about $6.  But, any airtight container will work, be creative.

Homemade Baby Wipes (Disposable)

Paper Towels (they don't have to be the most expensive brand, but you don't want the cheapest, scratchiest kind either.  Remember, you'll be wiping your baby's bottom with these...my default is regular Bounty)

Gentle Soap (I always use and greatly prefer Dr. Bronner's Almond Organic Liquid Castile Soup but any really mild baby soap would be okay, and less 'chemically' than premade wipes)

Water

Using an electric knife, bread knife, hacksaw, or whatever you prefer (I've used all of the aforementioned :), cut paper towels into half lengthwise, so you end up with 2 shorter rolls.  I do this outside usually, as some brands produce some 'fuzz'.  I usually do a bunch of rolls at once too, just so I have them ready to go.

Add about 2 cups of water to your container, as well as a good squirt of soap.  This is not an exact science, obviously :)  Place the paper towels, cut side down, into the solution.  It will fairly quickly absorb the liquid; then flip it over, replace the lid, and let sit. 

When you're ready to use the wipes, the core cardboard of the paper towels should be soaked through.  If it isn't, add some more water, as the amount varies by brand and roll size of paper towels.  When it is soaked, pulling on the cardboard core will easily remove it, as well as start the first paper towel wipe pulling out of the center.

Keep pulling paper towels out of the center to use as wipes.  For 'wet only' diapers, you can even tear them into half so they last twice as long.

Homemade Baby Wipes (Cloth)

For cloth wipes, I have a combination of fleece & t-shirt knit fabric I cut into 'wipe size' that I use.  And I personally only use them for wet diapers, and still use the disposable wipes mentioned above for dirty diapers.

In a spray bottle, fill it nearly to the fill line with water.  Add a good squirt of gentle soap.  I always use and greatly prefer Dr. Bronner's Almond Organic Liquid Castile Soup but any really mild baby soap would be okay, and less 'chemically' than premade wipes. 

To use, just squirt the wipe (not the baby, just to clarify in case you thought I was crazy, ha!!) with the solution, and wipe.  Put the cloth wipe in with your regular diaper wash.

Enjoy!  Becca